ATS NUMBERS; GOLDMAN SACHS SIGMA X CANADA

Looking at TSX-listed securities, the exchange captured 62.6 per cent of volume, while Alpha handled 21.4 per cent. Together, the remaining ATSs handled 15.4 per cent.

Alpha chief executive officer Jos Schmitt is pleased with Alpha IntraSpread, which he says traded over 10 million shares on July 29, or two per cent of trading volume. This, says Mr. Schmitt, makes it the most-active dark pool in Canada. Over the next few months, Mr. Schmitt hopes IntraSpread will reach an average daily volume of 30 million to 40 million shares.

Other Canadian dark pools include Investment Technology Group Inc., Instinet Inc. and Liquidnet Holdings Inc. Together, those three handled 1.7 per cent of Canadian trading volume in July. In comparison, the United States has 18 dark pools, which captured about 14 per cent of American trading volume last month.

Canadian dark pools will add a new member in September, as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. launches its own dark pool, Sigma X Canada. Goldman says it will distinguish its dark pool with lower prices and faster technology. It did the same in Europe in April, when it launched Sigma X MTF. In July, Goldman says Sigma X MTF handled about 5.45 per cent of market share on the NYSE Euronext.

by Stockwatch Business Reporter